#chase has a backstory but its being fleshed out more

[mysticfoxdesigns]

Hehehe get ready cause these are canon in Cyberaligned.

Mrs. Burns

I for one am subscribed to the dead mom theory, purely cause I can see one of the kids, Kade, punching someone cause of a dead mom joke. Now how did she die?

She was a scientist, working in the lab along side the Greenes and Dr. Morocco. Due to how Dr. Morocco worked, he was very reckless. The three other scientist were hesitant, but Dr. Morocco was the lead scientist, and they couldn't question or do much.

One day, while Ezra Greene was at home caring for Frankie who was sick at the time, an experiment went wrong. A robot malfunctioned, which was normal, however it knocked over a burner. A lit burner. That burner mixed with a flammable gas nearby, causing an explosion of fire. Papers, fabric, wood, other chemicals, all caught on fire, with it rapidly spreading through the lab. The two women were trapped, unable to reach the fire safety equipment. Dr. Morocco, seeing what was happening, simply turned and escaped the building.

The rescue units on call at that time were too late to reach the lab in time. That day was the most devastating day the island had in decades. Both Ezra and Charlie were distraught at their wifes' death. Kade, Dani, and Graham vowed that day to become rescue workers, to not allow what happened to their mom to happen ever again on Griffin Rock. Dr. Morocco, although he had already disappeared, was fired from his job, and Ezra was made the lead scientist.

Protectobot Blades

Rescue Force Sigma 17 wasn't always Blade's team. Originally, he was apart of Rescue Force Alpha 1, better known to the Academy as the Protectobots. The original Rescue team, where he was their fighter and helicopter. But how did Blades get moved to Sigma 17 as an anxious medic with a ground mode? A team that specialized in deep space rescues? He wouldn't have any reason to leave his Gestalt. So what happened?

Tagan Heights happened. Now while the Rescue Bots were a true neutral in the war, after Megatron considered Rescue City and it's inhabitants to be enemies of the Decepticons because they would help Autobot forces. In fear of an attack on the civilian state, Optimus Prime appointed the Protectobot's to be Autobots. This allowed them to protect the city and their students.

As for what happened at Tagan Heights, the Protectobots fell during their battle with Devastator as Defensor. The only bot who survived from the combiner was Blades, who's last memory was falling to the ground from his position as the right arm.

When Blade's onlined again in the Iacon hospital, he was instantly greeted with a heavy spark. The splitting of the Gestalt bond nearly offlined him if Ratchet hadn't put him into stasis. Once he was pulled from stasis, his frame had been changed. The old one was too damaged to be of continued use, and due to the scarcity of materials, his frame was remade to include ground mode capabilities. His memories of before the fight were hazy, all he could remember was fuzzy memories with his Gestalt, and the crash to the ground.

The rest of the Alpha forces decided to place him with a different team, at least until a medic could reinstall his memories. Ratchet could do it, but the war took up his time. He gave Blades a drive, telling him to hold onto it until they were able to meet again. Blades was soon accepted into Sigma 17 by Heatwave, who took up the Alpha team's request for any force to take in Blades.

After that, was their mission into deep space, where they would soon be forced into stasis for 10 million years.

Cody's Self Image

Growing up, all Cody knew of his family was their rescue work. His earliest memories included Kade taking care of him, all while doing his firefighter homework. Dani was the same, researching how to be an EMT so that she could begin training when she was old enough.

Cody grew up with his family being the heroes. Not him.

Kids at school constantly picked at this insecurity he had. It didn't help when adults around him reinforced these ideas. This is why whenever he had a chance, he tried to be the hero. Even if it could almost kill him. His family constantly scolded him for trying to get involved, even after the Rescue Bot arrived.

As he became a teenager, his family's perception seemed to change. Each of his siblings seemed to be trying to pull him into their foot steps. This only made him more distraught, unable to cope with the sudden expectations put on him.

Why couldn't he just find his own path?

The Rescue Bots Were My Way Out

Both Boulder and Heatwave were forged into the lower caste levels of Cybertron. Boulder was construction class, placing him lower middle caste. Heatwave was a miner, putting him in the lowest level of the lower caste. Both were barred from an education of their choosing.

The only schooling Boulder received was something related to his caste, that being engineering. He wished to learn outside of his caste, but construction bots were too "stupid" to learn anything but construction related material. Medicine, Science, History, Art, were all barred from his caste.

Heatwave received no formal education in his early years. He learned how to spell and read basic words in secret, but as a miner, education was useless for his caste.

Boulder first learned about Rescue City when he was 11 million, from his brother's friend Wheeljack. Both Bulkhead and Wheeljack were Wreckers, and as the war was ramping up more, the two older mechs worried about Boulder's safety. The two mechs knew the administration of the Rescue Bots Academy in Rescue City, the Protectobots. With them recently joining the war, the two mechs felt it would be safer for Boulder to live in Rescue City. Together the two mechs helped to get him out of Kaon and to Rescue City, where the caste system was non-existent. There, Boulder was able to begin training, gaining a safe place in the war ridden planet.

Heatwave's ticket to Rescue City was a lot more rocky. By the time he was 13 million, he had been passed to several different mine owners. His last one had him in an open air mine, near the smelters. An accident happened, offlining several mechs and injuring more. Rescue Force Omega 6 arrived, the large team able to help pull mechs out of the damaged areas. Heatwave was among the several pulled from the wreckage. Watching the firebot that lead the team, he knew that was what he wanted to do. When no one was looking, Heatwave snuck aboard the Omega's ship, hiding out in storage.

He was able to make it to Rescue City, where after some modifications, he became a firebot and soon became the leader of Rescue Force Sigma 17.

~~~~~~~

God that was a lot, but enjoy

The most angsty Transformers Rescue Bots headcanon you guys could ever come up with?

[ghostinthegallery]

Hey there!! I really enjoyed your insight the other day about how writing a serial differs from a plotted-out-and-written-in-advance novel! As someone who's just dipping my toes into posting as I write, any chance you could give some advice or tips you've learned about that style of writing specifically? 💚

(from @inquisitor-gayfax)

Why yes! I'd love to (thank you for giving me the excuse XD)

The main thing I have realized is that experience with traditional, "complete on arrival" novels is actually super helpful for serial writing. The principles of character writing, world building, and all that still apply, but even more importantly the beats you want your story to hit are all pretty much the same. You want that into, the inciting incident, the midpoint turn, etc. Those are all vital to keeping your story on track. Especially as serials are prone to meandering. It is so easy to get lost and lose sight of the forest for the trees. For me, always checking with myself that I am hitting or actively working towards those major beats helps to keep me on track.

Also note that one big thing will be different is the length. Serials tend to get much longer and thus the beats are stretched out. The length is because each chapter essentially functions as a short story in and of itself. It has to be a satisfying reading experience on its own as well as in the context of the larger work. This oftentimes means fleshing things out more than you otherwise would and bam, longer work. (not necessarily as long as I often go! but the tendency is there). FWIW, I find editing these chapters as I got to be much easier than editing a whole novel. I do miss being able to move big chunks and scenes around (cut and paste, my beloved), but it is worth the tradeoff to me.

The nature of the chapters functioning as short stories (minus a definitive ending of course) is probably going to be the biggest difference if you are someone who writes the entire thing ahead of time and then posts chapter by chapter, as opposed to posting as you write or posting with a backlog but not a finished novel.

Now, the other biggest difference if you are posting as you go is that you will not have the chance to revise the entire story the way you do with a traditional novel. You cannot go back and change things, add foreshadowing or a character beat or anything. Once you publish that chapter, the events are set in stone.

I actually enjoy this! It is a fun challenge to work with what I have established. But...I also cheat. I have a tendency to drop little things here and there that could be hints at larger plot points or things that are setting up things later on, but they are vague enough that I am not fully locked into anything.

The secret is that your readers are unlikely to remember a small detail in chapter 3 that didn't really go anywhere. But they will remember that detail in chapter 4 that got paid off in chapter 35 and you will look like a super genius (I am 99% sure Eiichiro Oda, possibly the greatest serial fantasy writer/artist of all time has done this writing One Piece, alongside his legit 5-D chess long game reveals)

To call myself out, here is an interaction from chapter 5 of The Silence & the Storm (poster child of fics that got too long)

Before he turned to go, he placed a hand on Anrakyr’s shoulder. Anrakyr tried to shake him off, but his grip was as strong as his bulky build would imply. Through an interstitial message he said, “If you ever wish to hear of Pyrrhia, you need only ask. Perhaps you still have friends there? Perhaps not. But would you not like to know?” “What are you—” Zultanekh broke the connection. He started back down the corridor, and Anrakyr had to choose whether to chase him, or remain with this stranger.

I had no idea what had actually happened on Pyrrhia when I wrote that. I just knew I wanted to address Anrakyr's backstory and why he left his home planet, so I left myself that set up figuring I would pay it off later. And then in chapter 48 we got this:

“Do you remember back when the mot was called,” Anrakyr said. “You told me that if I wished to know about Pyrrhia I need only ask. That I might still have friends there. Was that true?” “Would I lie about such a thing? Never,” Zultanekh replied, surprisingly softly. “Did my own wanderings take me to Pyrrhia? Yes, they did. An unlucky clash with some orks left this ship in need of repairs—although make no mistake the orks were far worse off! Space debris after we were done with them.” Anrakyr flashed a glyph of impatience.  “In any case,” Zultanekh continued. “We landed, declaring our intentions to repair and leave. Had we heard rumors of lost Pyrrhia? We had, however the planet itself was quite…orderly. Calm.”

The conversation goes on as Zultanekh describes more of what he saw because 33 chapters later I, the author, now know what happened and can start giving that pay off. Sometimes I will get really lucky and find something I didn't intend as foreshadowing but that happens to work! Those are good days.

Now this is a risky strategy. You can limit your options when you do this, and you have to make the pay off make sense given whatever you set up. I've definitely wished for the power to go back and edit some of my vague hints in the past. But that is the challenge! True you could actually be good at planning and meticulously plant all your little seeds and reveals. Or you can be me, a creature of vibes and chaos.

Speaking of vibes, I think it is important to talk about the audience. And how they will influence you. When you present a finished story, that is it. It is done. The audience can talk about the story all they want, but it cannot retroactively influence how you wrote the book. With serial writing 99% of the time readers will be able to comment. And I think we writers have to be very careful about how we let that affect our writing.

The Game of Thrones writing team apparently at some point decided that "fooling the audience" and being unpredictable was more important than telling a good story, so they changed plot points when too many audience members predicted certain outcomes. This is bad. However, sometimes audience feedback is good! I personally unlocked a whole subplot because a commenter asked about a character I had included totally at random. It was a filler name! I did not realize this character was in a game, but realizing that gave me incredible stuff to work with. I'm glad I listened to them! Not to mention the incredible kindness and support that has kept me going through some rough patches in my life. By that same token, negative comments can feel awful. I have not found that to be an issue in my corner of the 40k fandom, but it is absolutely a consideration in other spaces (especially outside of fanfic) so just be aware.

I hope that answered your question! Probably too much, but as we have firmly established, I am verbose ☺️

[forffax]

@matoitech THANK YOU CHASE!! making a seperate post and putting it all under the cut bc it's Long <3 (also noting at the beginning that "Voided 2" is the name of the story centering them that I've been working on for years <3) Athanasius: She/Her, Zephyr: She/him, Lux: He/Him, Ferdinand: He/Him, Alan: Any (including neos)

1. How did you choose their name? Athanasius, Zephyr, and Lux: Behindthename! I was around 14 when I created them, so I was probably just looking for names that sounded cool... I don't think there was any particular name theme I was going for, lol. I remember I only found out the proper pronunciation of "Athanasius" (atha-NAY-shus) later, and I still pronounce it "uh-thana-SEE-us" skdhjs. Ferdinand: Probably also behindthename? Possibly subconsciously influenced by the band Franz Ferdinand, because I was really into them at the time (and still am to an extent lol). Alan: Also not entirely sure where his name came from! I think it just sounded Right to me. In the original draft of the story Lux had a wife and kid in Saluria and the kid's name was Apollo, so I may have just had "A" names on the brain...

2. Were they created for the story, or was the story created for them? Athanasius and Zephyr: These two were created for their original story! It was an assignment in my 8th grade English class where we could write whatever kind of story we wanted and then we would share it with the class ^_^. Their initial story has very little in common with the current Voided 2— they weren't even a part of my main oc universe, which was also in its infancy at that time! In their original story, Athanasius and Zephyr were strangers with traumatic pasts (an abusive father and a dead brother, respectively) who became friends and found comfort in each others company, slowly beginning to help each other heal... & now they are inseparable siblings who have supported each other through the hardest times in their lives :] Lux: Initially, Lux was the aforementioned Dead Brother, who had been killed in front of Zephyr when they were teens... So in that way, he was created for that original story, but then later I drew him and really liked his design (& really liked the idea of incorporating them all into my main oc universe) and created the beginnings of Voided 2 around him! I distinctly remember thinking "okay but what if he was secretly alive...." and then everything exploded from there skdjfgks Ferdinand: He was created for the story, but similarly was fleshed out by having more story developed for him after his creation! I think Ferdinand came around not long after I decided that Lux was alive and came up with everything involving Saluria and the Salurian War... & I don't remember the specifics but he was always intended to come back after dying ^_^ a lot more of the important aspects of his story and character (non-op trans man, has a sister that's still alive, in school to become a doctor, rebuilt his body piece by piece, displaced about ten years out of time) came about much more recently than his actual inception! Alan: Xe was created the most recently out of the whole family, and he was definitely created for the story! I wanted Lux and Ferdinand to have a kid, and thus Alan came to be :] However, much like their dads, Alan's story was created after she came into being... they're not direct family but David & Alex also were created and then immediately expanded Alan's backstory ^_^

7. What attribute of them (some facet of their personality, their history, their look, or whatever etc) would you find most important to somehow preserve if they were transplanted to an AU fanfic? Athanasius: It's funny, because of the nature of my oc universe I kind of loosely think that the original version of Athanasius still exists in a different universe... but other than having orange hair and the same first name, they're completely different people. For more "traditional" AUs, I think the core aspects of her as a person (appearance, Zephyr and Lux's adoptive sister, strong need for community and a closeness to her family, being a butch) are absolutely necessary to preserve. I enjoy AUs more if they're less "here's a reimagining of the character in this place/time" and more "they're essentially the same person, I'm just putting them in Situations"... so like even in a fantasy setting she'd still be Her, you know? (<- guy who has a fantasy AU but never talks about it). Zephyr: Seeing a Zeph without her mullet is like a butterfly without its wings.... Okay real answer. Similar to Thana, I use AUs as a Playing With Toys/Putting them in Situations thing, so I'd probably keep nearly everything the same about him? Within reason like there's a "Lux comes back early/Lux never leaves" AU bouncing around in my head and I think Zephyr in that would be less Melancholic and would def have a couple less Issues but she'd still be very similar as an adult I think... dunno! It's fun but a lot to think about... Lux: sdjifhsdk okay in Lux's case no matter what he's losing an eye simply because I think he looks weird when I draw him with both eyes LMAO. Core part of his character 2 me. Lux's personality I think stays similar no matter what you do to him, but also I feel like he's been so molded by his experiences in Saluria that it's also key that he's a traumatized war veteran... but ALSO ALSO I refuse to even consider that in a "Real World" AU he would join the US Military bc. he Would Not Do that. it's complicated! He's a generally pacifistic guy forced to fight for his and others lives... Ferdinand: While I don't necessarily find it vital that he dies in an AU, having others think he died is always fun... specifically thinking abt my fantasy AU here. But I think more important is having a tense/strained relationship with his blood family and him finding community & love elsewhere. He also would not enlist in a "Real World" AU unless explicitly forced to... He probably also retains an interest in healthcare 👍 Alan: Becoming disabled very abruptly is important to his character I think. So he's losing that leg no matter where he ends up sdkjfgs. His past of being a test-tube baby and living in an orphanage for a good while is also pretty important imo, but obvs that can't apply to every AU... so just having kind of a "experimentation" type backstory and not having any family outside of David/Alex for a while is probably something I'd keep every time!

9. If your character could have handed their role in the plot to someone else, would they have? Athanasius: She spent a lot of her worse moments wondering how different things might be if she was just Zephyr's blood-related sister instead... would there be less distance between her and the world? Would her dad and Zeph be less sad if she had vanished instead of Lux? She's scared of the answer to that. It took a long time before she really felt like she "belonged" anywhere, and even then it felt... fragile. Like the smallest misstep could shatter everyone's "acceptance" into "tolerance"... Zephyr: She never thought about it, really. Or tried not to. Lux would've been a better student. Lux would've been a better role model for Thana. Lux would've been strong enough to be there for their dad. Despite his best efforts, these thoughts kept her up at night for years and years, slowly creeping in with the colder months. He had decided to make a conceited effort to move on and NOT entertain those thoughts anymore... and then Lux came back. Lux: This is something he was explicitly doing everything in his power to avoid.... His aunt who brought him to Saluria after The Incident constantly remarked that she should've snatched Zephyr instead, and just the though of his brother having to go through this instead made Lux fight even harder.... :( Ferdinand: He had nearly two decades to spend thinking about this... eventually he decided not to dwell on it too much. Things ended up the way they did, and he can't change that. In his darker moments, though, especially towards the beginning of his time as a soul without a body... he often flipped between "I wish I hadn't let this happen to me" and "I wouldn't wish this on anyone". Alan: If anything, I think he wishes that xe could've been there for Alex and David more, especially when he hears about/remembers the whole story. I don't think they would've wanted to trade places with Alex, but instead I think she wishes that the experimentation had never been done in the first place and that all three of them could've grown up together as siblings...

16. What is your character's favorite leisure activity? Athanasius: She's a gamer sjdkfs! She's a huge sonic fan (she and Zephyr played the original games as late teens and loved the sonic adventure series when they were in their late college years :]) and she's kept her childhood consoles. She's mostly into older games, but she'll check out the newest releases of her fav series when they come out! Zephyr: Does laying comatose on the couch count She likes doing puzzle type activities, from sudoku to picross to crosswords! He likes to think it helps her calm his rapid thoughts down... Art and writing are sometimes leisurely for Zephyr, but since she does that for his job, it can be hard to engage with that outside of obligation, even though she genuinely has a love for them. Lux: Anything that keeps his hands busy! I think he would try a lot of different things just because he was curious about them. He's not fantastic at most of the things he tries, but usually Lux will try to get decent enough to be proud of his progress before moving on to something new. He can knit a pretty passable scarf :] Ferdinand: Absolutely has a mostly anonymous blog where he generally posts just aesthetic pictures he takes. He'll occasionally wax philosophy on the nature of what it means to live and what our place is in the world and such... Ferdinand also likes showing off his garden on there ^_^ He's very responsive to any comments he gets, and he's made a good handful of friends online! Alan: He loooves reading! Mainly encyclopedia type books (especially when she was younger) but also loves a good mystery novel. They also enjoy just going out into the woods and bird watching :]

17. Is your character holding any grudges? Are they likely to stop?

Athanasius: Oh she 100% held a grudge against Lux for a good while, especially when it first came into question if he was really dead + when he initially returned only to not explain anything and tried to run away again... Thana, while not having much of an initial connection to Lux herself, saw firsthand how her dad and sibling were after he vanished... But after actually sitting down and talking with each other, they began to build a much healthier relationship and are now very close :] I think it took a while for that resentment to fully fade, but as of now she's happy to have him as her brother!

Zephyr: She held a grudge against his dad for about a year after he told her and Thana that he wasn't entirely sure that the remains buried under Lux's name were actually his... it was almost like tearing that wound clean open again. He eventually saw his dad's perspective, but even today it's a bit of a sore spot between them. Lux: There were times when Lux was fueled by nothing but anguish and hatred. Hatred towards the war, hatred towards the Vacares, hatred towards his aunt, hatred even towards his family back home (these periods were particularly brief, and quickly followed by such an intense shame that he nearly hurt himself). By the time Lux was finally able to return home, all that was left of the burning anger was a profoundly exhausted sadness. All he had left to do, he thought, was apologize to his last remaining family and then disappear for good this time. As he began to recover, I think his anger definitely returned, which at times alarmed him after being emotionally numb for years and years. He's grown to be much better at regulating and recognizing his emotions now! Ferdinand: For a good while, he did have a grudge against the Vacare that killed him. That began to lessen a bit with time, but it's something that will probably be with him for a good long while, if it ever fades at all... It really doesn't take up much of his thoughts, though. More than anything, he has a new appreciation and love of life that he cherishes every single day! Alan: Not really, to be honest! He doesn't get angry in general very easily, and also has a hard time empathizing with others. Xe doesn't necessarily hold a grudge over their childhood being intensely fucked, but she does sometimes wish he had been allowed a "normal" life.

19. Does your character have any health issues, whether they're aware of them or not? Athanasius: She's type-1 diabetic! She has an insulin pump on her left side. Zephyr: She is suffering the consequences of decades of HORRENDOUS posture. He's got a generally bad back and if she throws it out he can be bedridden for a few days. Lux: Besides the obvious (missing an eye) he's got chronic pain, both from the many, many injuries he received during the war and in his joints. Usually he manages it with Lunoir healing techniques (using soul energy to help numb the nerves sending pain signals), he also has crutches and a wheelchair for particularly bad days. Ferdinand: None particularly, other than the general aches and pains of wear and age! Alan: Again, besides the obvious (missing his left leg below the knee), xe's hypermobile! They have a cane and a chair for days when walking unassisted hurts too much.

20. Free Space #2: Which of your OCs would you most like to meet in person, if they could become real (or you could visit them) for a day?

Can I say the whole family. skjdfgks but I want to give Lux a hug sooo bad... both because I love him and I think he would give really good hugs. I'd also love to just sit down and talk with any of them! I feel like a lot of myself ended up in Zephyr, so I wonder what that would be like, to meet her both from my perspective and for him to meet me from her perspective.... I'd also be ecstatic to meet thana, she's like the cool aunt who you play games with and hear wild work stories from.. I think she'd be a bit weirded out by the whole "meeting the person who thought you up" thing but I hope we would have a good relationship! Ferdinand would probably take it the best out of anyone, and I feel like we could have a really nice conversation about the nature of creation :] I also want to give him a hug very badly. Alan might be a bit awkward at first? But I think that's how it is with both him and myself when meeting someone new. We could probably bus to the mall or something or just walk around and swap stories about our lives :]

[capsarcastica]

Twisters Review

A fun throwback that captures much of what made the original film so enjoyable. It provides enough of the first film's thrills and adds some new stuff to work on its own.

The movie certainly delivers what it promises: characters chasing tornadoes and small towns being destroyed. Just like the original, it's a a bit more complex than that. But it's nice to see a modern movie without so many of those modern movie problems. Besides a brief mention of tornadoes getting worse there's no talk about climate change leaving the story to just focus on the characters and situation.

The main characters are smart, flawed, and well developed. Kate is the new Helen Hunt, trying to overcome a past trauma. Tyler the new Bill Paxton, the charming guy who knows his stuff. Javi the new Cary Elwes, the corporate guy trying to get his own project going. I did think it was interesting that this time the main character starts off on the corporate side and the band of misfits would be seen as the problem. The side characters are less interesting. The original had a fun cast of supporting characters who all stood out in their own small way. The minor characters in this one don't have the same interest. The YouTube chasers are quirky but don't do anything to stand out. There's none of that friendly banter that fleshes out their backstory.

The main story starts off well but loses it in the third act. It starts off with trying to get a new system to analyze tornadoes working, a good continuation of the first film's Dorothy Sensors. Unfortunately, it eventually abandons this to focus on stopping tornadoes using a chemical process. The problem there is that it begins stretching believability and opens up logistical problems. The real world is constantly upgrading how we understand things, but stopping a tornado is like stopping an earthquake or the tides and is a bit much for what is otherwise a believable story.

The special effects are terrific. It continues the first film's respect for nature, having plenty of beautiful shots of potentially dangerous storms. The effects of the original still hold up, and this look just as good. The visual effects know when to keep the tornadoes shrouded in mystery and when to show them off.

I do generally like that the movie doesn't resort to blatant nostalgia bait to sell the movie, instead standing on its own. Too many legacy sequels are obsessed with recapturing the glory days rather than forge its own thing. That being said, I wish the movie had a few more connections to the first. The opening scene has a Dorothy V, which is a nice touch. But little else connecting the two movies. There was a perfect moment when Kate goes back home for a legacy character moment. Hunt, Jami Gertz, or anyone would've been fitting, the idea of someone passing the torch to a new generation. Maybe another sequel will connect Tyler in some way.

The original Twister came out when disaster movies were making a comeback, and movies could be sold on simply but entertaining stories and good visual effects. While not perfect, this one does a good enough job bringing that back to modern audiences. Hopefully a third film will continue the good work and fix those few problems.

[flamekinz]

What I wish Wish would be

Now, I have not seen Wish, I have only seen reviews, but I think I can already think of a better overall plot with an actualized background for Magnifico.

I’d say Magnifico was always a good, if not paranoid, ruler. He made good decisions and ruled his kingdom fairly. But when he granted a wish that made someone else steal his spotlight, he went full paranoid. ‘What if they like him more?' 'What if he doesn't like me?' 'What happens when he gets more support than me?'

He sabotages the next few wishes tricky genie style, where you get what you want, but there are unwanted ramifications. So Magnifico pulls out a solution, wish makers forget their wish until its granted, that way the people don't go out making issues. He then begins granting less and less wishes under the guise of safety. Now Magnifico has control and he feels safe that there's no threats to his reign.

Enter Asha and her wish, to grant everyone’s wishes. She’s young and naieve and excited to give Magnifico her wish, hanging back so that her wish is last and would supposedly domino into granting everyone’s wishes. But when she sees one of her friends blissfully unaware of the wish she has given up, Asha becomes horrified by the reality and sneaks away to steal her friend’s wish back, to grant it or remind her friend of it, Asha’s not quite sure.

Then she overhears a conversation between king and queen on the danger’s of wishes going wrong and how they need to study ramifications before granting, but the ramifications Asha hears are all rather petty by her standards.

So Asha grabs a few more wishes and an escape scene happens, leading her to have 3-4 wishes of various relation to her, and wondering how she’s going to grant the wishes, as she doesn’t know magic, the wishing Star shows up to help, having been wished upon.

Asha then goes around trying to grant the wishes she has, all the while making sure the town guards and Magnifico don’t find her or what she’s doing. And the wish granting goes alright, but since Asha isn’t as experienced and the Star kind of does run on literal genie wishes, things do go awry, practically reinforcing Magnifico’s propaganda that wishes can be harmful.

All this while, Magnifico is having a spiraling panic attack. Someone else can grant wishes. Someone else could be liked more than him.

Someone could take away his power.

So he starts going mad tyrant in trying to find Asha, starting with reasonable commands (someone did break into the castle after all) to deranged (something like ‘bring in all the children, they seem to be getting their wishes, one of them has to be the thief’).

Eventually the conflict boils down to Asha vs Magnifico on what to be done with the wishes. Asha and Star get to where all of the wishes are being kept, but it overloads Star as they try to grant all the wishes at once. Magnifico catches up and starts going on a villain monologue as he chases Asha down in the magical chaos, berating her for the carelessness of her wish granting. Asha shoots back on how a wish is only the first step in a journey that someone needs help to begin going on. Magnifico reveals his ‘tragic’ backstory (where plot twist he’s actually Asha’s grand-uncle, the older brother of her grandfather, where he granted Asha’s grandfather a wish and he thought it would destabilize the country, so brought him down and wiped his memory.)

Unfortunately he has declared his bit deranged methodology in the middle of town square, neither of which Asha or Magnifico realized with their chase in the magic chaos storm.

The grandfather comes forward, dazed and confused at the revelation, but forgives his brother, saying he only ever wished for the kingdom’s prosperity, including Magnifico. That sincere wish helps Star refocus and undo his damage, and Magnifico is helped up from his frantic state.

Things are cleaned up and Magnifico beings granting more wishes with the help of his family.

…

Now could this be fleshed out better? Of course. Is the surprise family reveal super convenient? Maybe. But this is just a rough idea on how I would make Wish with what little I know.

[bearmemesreviews]

FotW: SDMI - Revenge of the Man Crab

Last time we talked about a not-so-dead "Ghost Truck", but we don't have to deal with any false advertising today, it's Man Crab time!

Who doesn't love crabs, they're walk funny and their eyes function like light switches! And with their giant claws and spiky shells they also make great monsters, so every series, especially if it takes place in space or underwater (which are the same thing btw) needs a Crustacean Man scuttling about.

Backstory: The gang find themselves a new mystery while attending a Volleyball Tournament being sponsored by a brand new Sport's Beverage called "Trickell's Trickquid". It's apparently a "non-fat liquid diet, no calorie gluten-free moisture supplement." This is all nonsense pseudo-nutritionist jargon for "Water but not". Considering how worse the dieting industry got, this is actually a bit too safe of a satire for what that BS Machine produces.

The titular Man Crab has been terrorizing the sports event, kidnapping both worker and player alike with its burrowing skills. Able to pop up from the beach's sand like a land-shark, the crab man proceeds to snatch up people in broad daylight during a match, popping up again to further destroy the nearby bleachers and stands.

The gang soon find themselves at odds with the adults, as it's a running plotpoint that the mayor - and by extension the Sheriff - wishes to capitalize on the weekly "supernatural" threats with merchandising and tours. Peter Trickell, the owner of Trickquid, also brushes off concern to not impede his profits. The group's main suspect is a recurring character named Skipper Shelton, a clam-restaurateur whose nose was taken by a wild clam (Resisting SpongeBob Reference). He's crabby because his restaurant had to be moved for the event, which happens any time the beach is rented out.

Later, for their butting in the crab man kidnaps Daphne and escapes with her in tow when Fred's trap fails. Leading Fred to spiral as he's a bit of a dumb jock who can't understand his feelings for Daph - the sport he's obsessed with being trapmaking by the way.

They eventually find a cove's entrance leading to underground caverns right beneath the beach, revealing an entire system of bridges and pathways that the Man Crab's been using to travel up and out of the sand with.

Design: The Man Crab is a straightforward Human-Crustacean hybrid with a red shell, mustard yellow mandibles and underbelly, and black tips on its claws and extremities. Its arms are asymmetrical, with the right ending in a gigantic and gnarly crab claw. Its left harm is more humanoid, with actual fingers on its hand, and its digitigrade legs are fairly short with two toes each.

Because of this, we don't see it walk in a way similar to a human, instead it has two additional pairs of limbs jutting out from its sides that are more accurate to a crab's real legs. Whenever the Man Crab needs to move, it grows out these extra limbs and walks with them like a spider.

Its head is interesting as its entire body is muscular but meant to resemble a crab lying on its back in silhouette. It even has a cute, segmented belly that resembles a "six-pack". Its head is humanoid, but it's almost trapezoidal in shape, with mandibles peeking out from under its chin. Its eyes sit on stalks sprouting from the top of its dome-shaped head. It has cute little vampire teeth in its human-like mouth, the whole head is position in an awkward area that almost feels like it's extending outwards from the shell like a turtle.

It's such a cool design, especially when it scuttles around, and I love both its silhouette and body plan. My favorite aspect is the muscle-like flesh making up it's lips and the connecting tissues between each crevice in its shell.

Reveal: After finding the Man Crab's lair the gang eventually find Daphne and the other kidnapped teens locked up in a giant cage. It's after freeing them that the Crab Man chooses to chase after the Mystery Gang to put a permanent stop to their meddling, eventually following them out of the caverns and back towards where the first trap was planted. The second times the charm, and it actually captures the Big Crab and secures it inside of a big cooking pot. The pot turns out to be too small and gruesomely tears apart the creature's legs, revealing the thing to be a robot.

And who was piloting it?

Yeah, this guy. No, we don't get the gang interacting with him at all before they hand him over to the sheriff. His name is Shinji Bud Shelton, no relation apparently, and he's the real inventor of Trickell's Trickquid - which was originally called Bud's Bloosh, and Velma only figured out his identity thanks to an old photograph taken of him and Trickell in a newspaper.

Bud wanted revenge for having his idea stolen by Trickell, and probably for also being forced to work as a salesman/mascot(somehow). When asked why he didn't just sue, he states that this whole Man Crab Revenge scheme was just cheaper than getting a lawyer.

Yes, it feels really slapped together, and the Scooby-pedia points out several technical errors such as his name being "Bud Coleman" in the credits so I think it was a rush-job. In fact, Trickell never shows up during the rest of the episode and we move on from Bud's capture to focus on a new clue regarding the overarching mystery. Genuinely, I think if he just wanted revenge for being forced to dress up like a giant water bottle for below minimum wage, I'd buy it more.

6/5 - Yeah, I'm going there. Genuinely one of the best designs in the show and one of the few I'm mad are not the real deal. Don't even care about the lackluster motive, love his legs and cute crabby head.

Not accepting any counterarguments, Crab Army attack!

🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀

[watching-pictures-move]

Viddying the Nasties | The Nesting (Weston, 1981)

This review contains mild spoilers.

After Flesh Feast with Veronica Lake, this is the second movie I've watched this week that's featured the final screen performance of a Hollywood legend. Gloria Grahame, who appears here as a spectral figure who provides the key to the film's mystery, passed away from cancer the year this film was released. But I don't think this carries the same dismal air as the other movie. For one thing, and apologies if I'm being morbid, I don't think Grahame, despite her health issues, looks all that frail here. And the movie surrounding her is quite a bit less crude and impoverished than the one Lake found herself in. Grahame's screentime is limited but well used, the movie relying on her presence to ease us into the supernatural until it puts her front and centre to reveal her backstory. As far as final performances go, it's pretty respectable.

This is directed by Armand Weston, from whom I'd previously greatly enjoyed the porno-noir Expose Me, Lovely, and as far as mainstream efforts by porn directors go, Weston acquits himself pretty well. (Given that Weston's porn work from my experience has been pretty genre-oriented, this isn't too great a surprise.) There's some attractively shadowy cinematography, a couple of nice bloody shocks (which earned this a place on the Video Nasties list), a great looking house and an effective sense of atmosphere. I do think the movie has its flaws. Some of the visual ideas, in particular a conversation during the end reveal, are awkwardly realized. Some of the outdoor scenes are shot rather flatly, and one chase in particular lacks the tension or frantic pacing you'd hope for such a scene. And I do think the cast, outside of Grahame and John Carradine, who given the chance hams things up from his wheelchair or bed, could be a lot better.

Robin Groves as the heroine does not bring the necessary trepidation or interiority for her role and instead often comes off as annoyed or annoying, depending on the circumstances. But I found the presence of David Tabor as a sinister local to be especially off putting. I understand his character is supposed to be unpleasant, but I think of someone like Joe Spinnell, who can be unpleasant in ways conducive to our understanding of the character, and I think Tabor falls more in the "guy I want to get off the screen" category. During that chase scene, all I could think of was that his character just took a dump and didn't wash his hands, which while not a great experience for the heroine should he catch her, is not exactly the life or death stakes you'd want the viewer to feel. But anytime the movie moves inside that house, you get that nice creepy atmosphere kicking in, and sometimes that's all you need.

I'm always interested in how porn directors adapt to more mainstream efforts, and I do think Weston's porn background is evident in a few ways. The brothel flashbacks / dream sequences have a nice decadence and sexual charge that wouldn't feel out of place in a porno. (Honestly, you could change a few plot details here and the premise would probably would probably translate pretty well to porn.) But there's also the eventual reveal, where the brothel and the prostitutes working for it as shown to be the victims, not the perpetrators of evil. It can be tempting to read a metafictional angle into this, the brothel standing in for Weston's usual genre, and I'm not sure a director who hadn't worked in that genre would have brought this particular subversive angle to the material.

[gamerdot]

woe, Dialsona be upon ye.

mad respect to doggo- it was exhausting rendering 8 sprites, I cant imagine doing a couple hundred 😭

[j-psilas]

Team Rocket and My Generation

I've got a hankering for literary analysis—but I'm going to be teaching accelerated ENG 101 courses for the next eight weeks, and I don't have the time to finish that article I've had sitting in a folder for months. And I want to write something fun!

So let's talk about these guys: Team Rocket!

Every late millennial and early zoomer knows this trio. The Pokémon anime's wacky weekly antagonists are, in many ways, more iconic than its protagonist, Ash/Satoshi. Where Ash is a flatly likable kid protagonist, meant for target viewers to map themselves onto, Team Rocket has more positive substance to their personalities.

They're flamboyant and silly, in a slightly anachronistic camp-queer way that hearkens back to older anime and manga. Jesse is a dramatic diva whose high femme aesthetic belies a decidedly butch brand of working-class toughness; James is the rosy shoujo dream boy made laughable for being outside his genre, with effeminately sensitive feelings and a penchant for crossdressing; and Meowth is this sassy little wisecracking gremlin, the perfect opposite of Pikachu and his cute little "pika-piiii"s.

As the low-stakes villains of a children's show, they're designed to be likeable and laughable—and the show writers achieve this by making them, well, queer-coded doofuses.

But what makes Team Rocket unique among the crowd of queer-coded 90s animated villains is that viewers who grew up with them now wholly embrace them. Not in a self-indulgent way, not as a reclamation of characters wrongly cast as the bad guys, but just... open and earnest fondness. This isn't some Disney villain "we-stan-an-evil-queen" fandom, but something much warmer and more sincere.

As my generation reached what can nominally be called adulthood, we felt a surprising spark of recognition when we looked back on Team Rocket, and with it came this outpouring of love. We identify with Team Rocket now, and now I'd like to talk about it.

On the one hand, I think it should be acknowledged that the Pokémon writers have, over the years, written an excellent trio of characters. All the little sympathetic touches given to Team Rocket over the years have built up, accumulated, and ended up creating some very well-fleshed-out antagonists, almost by accident.

Each of them has a sympathetic backstory from polar opposite ends of the socioeconomic spectrum. James comes from a wealthy family that completely disregarded his emotional needs, while Jessie was a poor girl struggling in the foster system. Along the way, each picks up tearjerker experiences that humanize them and endear them to the viewer, such that we really root for them as individuals even when we oppose them as Ash's antagonists.

Even when they're being nasty little mischief-makers, they're so fun and campy and silly that we just enjoy their screen presence. I remember, as a kid, eagerly waiting to see what ridiculous costumed trick they'd pull in that week's episode.

But on the other hand, that doesn't really explain why such a wide slice of the late-millennial-early-zoomer generation identifies with Team Rocket.

No, we identify with them—and love them—because they're losers.

They're queer-coded twenty-somethings struggling to make ends meet, working for a distant boss who doesn't care about them, chasing an impossibly lucky and talented child who always bests them despite being an idiot.

Every time, their plans fail in a spectacular explosion, but they have no choice but to pick themselves up and try again.

Team Rocket struggles, in a way that offers no easy answers or clear options, and the only way they get through it is with each other. They commiserate in their shared failure, their shared struggle against an apathetic world full of brilliant anime prodigies, and they get by somehow.

And that's why we map ourselves onto them. As late millennials struggle and bumble our way through the empty promise that is adulthood in the 2020s, we look back on Team Rocket and recognize our own struggles. And we commiserate with them.

Let me use an analogy that occurred to me as I was discussing this with my girlfriend, the wonderful @impossiblejellyfishfart.

Ash Ketchum is like... he's like a Quaker chocolate-chip granola bar. A healthy and energizing snack, kind of, in name only, but still more than enough to get a kid through the morning.

And if Ash is a sugary granola bar packed in your lunch bag, Team Rocket is a greasy carryout pizza picked up with your coworkers after a late shift. It's not made with love—quite the opposite, and that's why it's so tasty in the moment and so awful later on. The love comes from who you share it with, from the bitching and moaning and laughing and joking and carrying on, squeezing out a moment of delirious exhausted joy before returning to the grind tomorrow. That's Team Rocket.

And I should say, also, that despite everything, they're still bright and wonderful. They're still a joy to see onscreen, and they still make each other happy.

And it's not because of raw talent; they lose to Ash and friends every episode. It's by virtue of who they are, liking what they like, and pursuing it despite obstacles.

I think that's so deeply refreshing and reassuring, the message that you can shine just by embracing your authentic self, even if that self is silly and campy and queer and weird. Even if your circumstances are hard, and you're not able to pursue everything you hoped to have in life. Speaking for myself, an online adjunct professor who worked retail for years prior, living in a place where it's unsafe to be myself, I know that I find comfort in it. And for that, I love Team Rocket.

I don't think I'm the only one. I can't begin to count all the cool pieces of Team Rocket fan art I've seen in the past, say, five years—fan art depicting them as barely-together disasters, sleek fashion icons, and everything in-between.

With that in mind, everything I've said is pretty obvious; we've all been picking up on it, and expressing it in different ways.

But still I find it fascinating that such a big slice of my generation identifies with a trio of failed trickster characters. Usually the trickster archetype embodies the weakling's defiance of a dominant, straightforwardly powerful entity—and usually that entity represents, or at least echoes, an oppressive majority.

Anansi the Spider tricks a bigger and stronger animal for some temporary advantage, enjoys it until the consequences hit him, and escapes with, at most, a harmless reminder that he flew too close to the flame. Often he gains some token or skill that helps him later, and further characterizes him as, recognizably, a spider.

Team Rocket tricks stronger and better trainers for some temporary advantage, usually stolen Pokémon, enjoys this until the protagonists catch them... and then they lose. They suffer no permanent harm, but they win no permanent gain. They're like Sisyphus pushing his boulder—except it's their lives, not their afterlives.

It would be one thing if they remained flat antagonists with no interior lives, but as I mention above, it's clear that they do have human emotions and needs. The constant failure does get to them over time. There are several episodes, from what I've seen, in which any number of the trio attempts to break away from Team Rocket and start anew, or at least they feel pressured to do so. Constantly, the question hangs over their heads, "Why are we still doing this?" And there's never a lasting, satisfactory answer.

How horrible! I know this reads like one of those clickbait articles attempting to cast a childhood show as something grim, dark, and menacing...

...but, like, that's my honest read of Team Rocket's situation.

They've passed the point where a trickster can ever win, no matter how clever—and narratively, as the bad guys, they're never positioned to win.

Even if Giovanni were to meet them with respect and support, and give them the tools they'd need to succeed, the structure governing their existence as characters prevents them from ever winning. And doesn't that reflect our own confinement to a society that's actively failing us? Doesn't that resonate in the same way, emotionally?

Maybe I'm navel-gazing a bit. It wouldn't be the first time, admittedly!

Still, for me at least, this makes Team Rocket all the more valuable. Sometimes it feels like the support of my friends and my girlfriend are the only certain things in my life, and the Team Rocket trio reflects this emotional reality in a way that's still fun, heartwarming, and easy to digest. It's a kid's show, after all; you're meant to enjoy it.

The only certain thing for Jessie, James, and Meowth is their care for one another, and the unspoken assurance that they'll support each other through it all. That, and the knowledge that even as their boss disdains their failures—even as stupid little Ash beats them through impossible odds—they love each other for who they are, not for what they can produce.

So they keep trying, because it's Jesse and James and Meowth's struggle even before it's Team Rocket's.

[actualbird]

tot ao3 fic recs part 3: (currently) multichapter wips that have me at the edge of my seat

previous tot ao3 fic recs: part 1. part 2 (nsfw).

i was sposed to finish an update for my OWN tot multichapter wip tonight but my brain is a dumpster. to cope, i wanna show you guys some tot wips that have me on the edge of my seat

Guarded by Trifoliate-Undergrowth (Trefoil_9)

“I see him! I’m on it!” Luke yelled, then switched off his earpiece to focus on the chase. “Artem, Vyn, are you alright?” Rosa asked, and Vyn heard Artem’s voice responding simultaneously from beside him on the floor and from his earpiece. “I’m alright. The bullet went right past me, I felt it. Vyn? Vyn.” A shuffle of movement. “Dr. Richter, this is no time for games.” ---- In which Vyn nearly dies, Artem saves his life and then they both have to cope with that.

[vyn/artem, cw: blood, gun violence, injury]

this was just posted today and i am SOOOO HOOKED!!! VYN GETS SHOT!!! and godddd, Trifoliate-Undergrowth has a wonderful hold on both vyn and artem's pov. a high stress premise with spot on povs taking us through the story, this fic is DEFFO one im gonna be looking forward to more from. //rubs my grubby mitts together. vyntem? VYNTEM RIVALS TO FRIENDS TO LOVERS SPEEDRUN??? fellas, it's the good stuff here.

-

Endless Symphony (series) by Gloryofluv

Rosa capably understood that many things in life are in her grasp to discover. It was, after all, experiences that create the abundance of life. Justice, humbleness, and hard work. Three foundational aspects of life. However, through her own trials, (no pun intended), and unexpected events, there seemed to be another force. Enter one, Dr. Vyn Richter. From the very slanted fault of meeting in such an interesting way, he had become a staple in the circumference of her life. The oddity of his rare quality to sniff out human nature was awe-inspiring and inhuman. However, this Doctor was a man, nothing more. Rosa knows he’s extraordinary by nature, but through delicate unraveling, how far does he go to cover his deficits. Why? Why would he ever want to when the beauty isn’t in perfection or efficiency always, but sometimes in the flaws that make our hearts thrum to the same beat?

[vyn/mc, cw: violence. vyn backstory spoilers]

hey do you want a long read? well give this series a read because it's 139,651 words long. AND STILL FUCKIN GOING!!!

but god this fic has everything. vyn's past comes to bite him in the ass and we are taken through an EPIC LENGTH complicated modern royalty adventure. Gloryofluv does such a wonderful job in using the length and pacing of the story to its fullest. nothing felt rushed for me, everything just happened so frigging well. the world is fleshed out, the characters develop so well, reading this series truly feels like entering a new world with these characters we know and love. also, theres swordfighting "to the death" in this series. holy shit. if this series continues i will simply cry tears of joy

-

In the end, all I hope for is to be a bit of warmth for you by sure_galena

When Vyn is away on a business trip and needs help with his plants, Luke (and the rest of the NXX crew) end up signing up for more than they thought they would.

[no ship, cw: very slight violence to a monster plant]

FINALLY YESSSSS!!! TOT AO3 TAG IS GETTING WEIRD (AFFECTIONATE!!!!) I AM THRIVING. this premise was taken straight out of my dreams both in the sense that i love it and am so glad it is being written and also because it is absurd and OWNS THAT ABSURDITY. sure_galena's writing shines so brightly with succinct humor that still manages to speak volumes of sincerity. all of sure_galena's fics make me fall a little bit more in love with these characters. also this fic has vyn writing a ridic long plant care manual, showcasing just an IMPECCABLE UNDERSTANDING OF VYN'S CHARACTER KJFSBG. very very much looking forward to seeing how the nxx gang is gonna fare against a monster plant with a mouth

-

wait i just realized all these fics are somehow vyn centric. vyn richter is making me feel Some Kind Of Way (affectionate once more)

if you enjoy these fics, make sure to support the story with a kudos, comment, or bookmark!!!!

[envythepalmtree]

My thoughts on 03 and CoS

When I started watching 03, I came in with really high expectations. And I loved it!! Especially the first half - I loved the melancholy tone, the way they fleshed out the FMA world. That being said I have Opinions™️ which also includes some criticisms, as usual. Hearing things about 03 out of context definitely colored my expectations and perception of it. This is partly about the writing of 03, but partly about my own experience watching it.

I’ve been meaning to write and post this for about a month, but only got around to it just now, lol. Spoilers ahead if you haven’t seen it.

What I liked

- The way it took the stuff from the manga and made a completely different story was AMAZING. Far after the storyline diverged, seeing influences from the mangahood storyline and how they were taken in a completely different direction was super cool.

- The tone!! 03 felt much more personal, much more melancholic. We really get to see how traumatic events like the fight with Barry the Chopper effect Edward, and we see that he’s really just a child. A child in the military. I know “03 shows Ed as a child soldier” has been talked about a lot and that aspect of 03 really lived up to what I heard about.

- I loved the fillers!! The adaptations of the bonus comics were delightful to watch and really fleshed out the Mustang squad in a way that Brotherhood didn’t. Roy quoting the Art of War during the Fullmetal vs Flame episode was super cool, ties well with my Xingese Roy headcanons, and I’ll probably write a whole meta on that later.

- Even though I have some beef with the ending, which I’ll get to in a bit, it felt really special to me, personally, to see the characters hopeful and happy even after going through so much loss. I really like the message that sometimes, we do fail. Sometimes, what we’re chasing after is never meant to be ours. But we can learn to get up, and keep going. We can let go of that lost heaven.

What I didn’t

- I heard the line “My sympathy will not be spent on soldiers” out of context. I guess I expected it to be some badass line from Scar about why his anger towards the Amestrian state is valid and not something he needs to apologize for.

- Instead, that line was delivered by Scar right before committing an atrocity - sacrificing a huge number of soldiers for a philosopher’s stone, and placing a huge burden on a 14 year old boy by making Al’s body that stone without his permission. And Scar, after all he’s been through, didn’t get a happy ending. It wasn’t some badass thing, it was painted as tragic. I was really disappointed about where that line ended up and I’ll probably write a whole separate post about the lost potential of that line.

- Ed’s admitting that he has racial bias didn’t live up to my expectations. One of my biggest criticisms of mangahood has been the narrative’s stance towards race: “I think we should ignore race and treat each other as equals!” A common response I got was, “03 doesn’t do that! They actually have Ed admit that he has racial bias!”

- When that scene actually happened, I was thinking, “is that it? Is there more?” And yes, much of that disappointment likely came from me setting way-too-high expectations for the race themes of a shonen anime from 2003. It was such a short moment and didn’t feel as climactic or important as it should have been.

- Roy Mustang. Roy Mustang. The narrative expects us to sympathize with him, to like him, but I found it very hard. In mangahood, Roy’s goal to become Fuhrer and change the country for the better, to help the Ishvalans and make sure that a genocide like that never happens again, is a huge part of the show. In 03, it’s hinted at. Roy talks about becoming Fuhrer in the miniskirt episode, and it’s hinted that he has good intentions and wants to help the Ishvalans. But it’s not considered important.

- And then he completely throws that away.

- Reading things from 03 out of context, I somehow got the impression that Roy was going to quit the military after realizing that he doesn’t want to work within the system anymore. And I was thinking “omg that’s so cool! 03 actually has Roy renounce his ambitions and leave the military, because it’s the best way to help the Ishvalans!”

- Nope. That coup he stages? It’s not out of anger at how the Amestrian state treats its people. It’s not to avenge Ishval. It’s to avenge Maes Hughes, Roy’s friend.

- Having Roy stay in the military, but give up his rank, almost feels like a halfway point between two good ideas: Climbing the ranks to change the country, or leaving because he doesn't want to uphold a corrupt system. Maybe they could've made it work, but I wish they grappled with the implications of that more.

- adklsfaksldfhjks I’m very angry about this and this probably also needs its own post.

- Things in the second half of the show just didn’t feel as fleshed out. In Mangahood we got some time to grapple with the fact that Amestris was created by Father to be sacrificed, to grapple with the implications of that. In 03, that revelation came so close to the end that we just didn’t have time. I was left with so many QUESTIONS about the worldbuilding and parts of the plot, especially after CoS, and they didn’t get answered. I feel like a lot of my problems with 03 would be solved if they added a few episodes. It’d give them time to slow down to add more details, or even just give us an episode or three of Backstory.

all my QUESTIONS:

- Details on Dante and Hohenheim controlling humanity behind the scenes?? They just. tell us that they destroyed entire civilizations like Xerxes.

- Where do Gluttony, Greed, etc come from? If they were created simply to serve Dante, does that mean they were all created after Hohenheim left her?

- Why was Greed imprisoned? Why does he refer to the other homunculi as his sworn enemies?

- Lust is described as the “third Lust.” Who were the other Lusts? Is each sin a position in Dante’s squad, a role that can be filled after the one holding it dies?

- Envy is 300 years old. What the hell were they doing for all that time? Much of their character is based off of resentment of Hohenheim for leaving them and Dante, but that happened extremely recently.

- Hohenheim mentions that alchemy is fueled by people’s deaths in the parallel world?? And it’s NEVER mentioned again??

- How does the portal work? Ed landed in 1910s London, then 1920s Germany. But the times match up in CoS, with the 2 year gap and everything.

- I didn’t understand where the opening flashback about the uranium bomb comes from. It’s implied that it happened in the time gap between Ed joining the military and the Liore arc, but iirc the guy with the bomb came from the other world. How did he get there? How come Ed and Al spend a couple years knowing that a parallel world exists but it’s never brought up?

- How did Ed meet Alfons and get involved in the rocket stuff?

- From one of the guys in the Thule society: “but Hohenheim’s sons are from Shamballa.” HOW DOES HE KNOW THAT?

aklsfhsdj that was long. Stay tuned for some more metas about 03, because your girl has Opinions.

[feralphoenix]

HOWMST BELL THE CAT? - A treatise on one aspect of how the Pale King sealed the Radiance

sup hollow knight fandom, i’m back with the picante takes again after having Noticed A Thing.

as with my previous essays i’ll put this guy up on dreamwidth later for accessibility purposes, since my layout text may be too small for high-res pc users. i will attach that in a reblog at a later point.

CONTENT WARNINGS FOR TONIGHT’S PROGRAM: This essay discusses canon-typical body horror and bodily boundary violations, with some side mentions of colonialism.

all game screencaps are mine. the screencap of the wiki is from the “developer notes” (style guide) section of the “cut content” page.

ALSO: if youre from a christian cultural upbringing (whether currently practicing, agnostic/secular, or atheist now), understand that some of what i’m discussing here may challenge you. if thinking thru the implications of this particular part of hollow knight worldbuilding/lore is distressing for you, PLEASE only approach this essay when youre in a safe mindset & open to listening, and ask the help of a therapist or anti-racism teacher/mentor to help you process your thoughts & feelings. just like keep in mind that youre listening to an ethnoreligiously marginalized person and please be respectful here or wherever else youre discussing this dang essay, ty

HOWMST BELL THE CAT? - A treatise on one aspect of how the Pale King sealed the Radiance

We understand more or less how the Pale King’s plan was supposed to work. Stuff Radiance into a no-thoughts-head-empty and silent Pure Vessel to trap, isolate, and silence her, both putting an end to the Infection and killing her for good. Stick that vessel in the Black Egg, which harnesses Void BS to both keep the vessel alive indefinitely and to cover Hallownest (and its neighbors) in a time-defying stasis so that the Pale King could successfully hoard his favorite shiny FOREVER, threatened by nothing. Then put a seal on the Black Egg to prevent anyone from getting inside and harming said vessel while it’s strung up and helpless. And THEN, put protective seals on the anchors (the Dreamers) to the Black Egg seal to protect them from any external harm: The stasis means the Dreamers won't die of old age or starvation.

All in all, a pretty foolproof plan!

...except that the Dreamers are still vulnerable to having their minds breached with the moths’ magic... and the Pale King failed to take into account that his Pure Vessel was a person actually and the amount of toxic stress his training/upbringing put on them made them REALLY POORLY SUITED FOR THEIR JOB... and also that killing 99% of his million children and turning the Abyss into a landfill for baby corpses would take enough of an emotional toll on his wife and #1 enabler the White Lady that she would walk out on him, ensuring he’d only ever have one shot at this whole deal...

Basically it’s the sort of plan that an emotionally constipated, low-empathy sort of guy who pours all his points into INT and has a big fat zero for WIS might think is foolproof. It has big holes in it that the Pale King did not consider to be big holes until he got owned by the various consequences of his actions and fell down said big holes, making the shocked pikachu face all the while. Rip in die, my guy.

Anyway, there’s a lot of incidental information scattered about the game that gives us more insight into the stages of TPK’s plan. Looking at Monomon’s notes in the Archive suggests that she was probably involved in designing the Black Egg; the hidden room in the Weavers’ den points to their being the ones to blueprint the Dreamer seal; the White Palace’s hidden rooms reveal both TPK’s morbid fascination with the Void and his mea culpa wrt his motives and the Path of Pain is certainly suggestive of a lot of things. The White Lady tells us straight out that she walked out on the Pale King because she wanted no part in a second vessel batch, but how TPK didn’t handle that is only revealed via map design and some incidental dialogue from the Old Stag.

This stuff presents us with, if not a full picture, then at least a decent connect-the-dots of certain aspects of crater politics and Pale Court drama at the time, and how exactly TPK’s plan came together.

But there is still one glaring question that these cookie crumbs do not provide us an answer to:

Who shall bell the cat?

How did TPK et al manage to stuff Radiance into Hollow in the first place?

This is the subject of a lot of memes and jokes within the fandom because it's so absurd. Radiance fuckin hates that dude! She’s probably gonna be pretty wary of him considering how he stole her people in the first place! And considering the anti-colonialism slant of the writing - beyond the general sympathetic view Team Cherry gives of each indigenous bug society, Seer makes it very clear that Radiance has very good reason to take violent action against Hallownest - the answer is probably not something like “she’s just that stupid” or “she rolled a crit fail”.

Well... I have an idea of how TPK managed to get Radiance in there. It raises about as many questions as it answers, mind, but it may be someplace to start.

[desc: the hollow knight's entry in the hunter’s journal. top text/ghost’s comment reads: “Fully grown Vessel, carrying the plague’s heart within its body.” bottom text/hunter’s comment says: “The old King of Hallownest... he must have been desperate to save his crumbling little world. The sacrifices he imposed on others... all for nothing.”]

Here we have Hollow’s bestiary entry. Most of what we’re concerned with here is the top text, which says the seal has literally trapped Radiance inside their body. (First of all, ew, TPK.)

We already knew Radiance is literally actually inside Hollow, though: The Infection is leaking out of their body, and to get to fight Radiance, Ghost has to go traipsing into their sibling’s mind. So what’s significant about that here?

[desc: screencap of the outside of the black egg temple, post-infected crossroads. there are large infection blobs in the foreground and background, connected to each other by veins that come from inside the temple.]

The infection blobs are weird and get weirder if you kill enough Lightseeds for the Hunter to tell you their origin story, i.e. that the literal actual sun has been having a very long bad day and cried a lot, and some of the liquid coalesced into living flesh, and some of that living flesh took on a mind of its own to become Lightseeds. (Hollow Knight is a WILD place.)

Lightseeds are Radiance’s accidental children and share a lot of her traits: They are harmless creatures that try to avoid conflict if possible but if pushed will get creative and find ways to fight regardless of their physical limitations. (For the Lightseeds this involves hiding inside Broken Vessel’s corpse and puppeting it around to try to stab you.) They even have her same distinctive yell. And according to the Hunter, they’re born from the infection blobs. These enemies only ever appear in the Ancient Basin, which both Radiance and the Void have ransacked, and in the Infected Crossroads.

The infection blobs are connected to and sort of a weird extension of Radiance because the Infection itself is sort of a weird extension of Radiance. In the game’s internal style guide Team Cherry explains that the Infection started as an accident, not her original intention but what happened when Hallownest tried to block her out.

[desc: screencap from the wiki of style notes attached to seer that describe a sketch of radiance’s finalized backstory. text reads: “The moth tribe were (perhaps) descended from Radiance. However, the King convinced them somehow to seal Radiance away. I guess so he could rule Hallownest with his singular vision, as a god/monarch with no other gods. The moths sealed Radiance away by forgetting about her. Hallownest was born and flourished. However, the memory of Radiance lingered (eg [sic] the statue at hallownest’s crown) and soon she began to reappear in dreams and starting [sic] exerting influence. The King and the bugs of Hallownest resisted this memory/power and it started to manifest as the Infection. Thus the first attempt to seal Radiance failed, and the King had to try another method - the Vessel.” emphasis mine.]

Some fans have posited the blobs as deposits of pupa juice, but given Team Cherry's description of the Infection’s origins I don’t know how likely that is. Since the Void also sticks its squamous tentacles into things via veiny looking things and the Nightmare’s Heart has similar veiny nonsense in the Nightmare Realm, I wonder if it isn’t just a Meddly God Shit thing in general.

Whatever the case, the blobs are very much connected to/a part of Radiance.

And when you’re hanging around them, you will notice two things: They pulse like they’re part of a circulatory system, and you can hear Radiance's heartbeat emanating from them.

[desc: screencap of the game’s title screen with the infected menu theme in use: a glowing orange ball at the center of a lot of black tendony webbing.]

Let’s also think of the Infected menu theme, which you unlock after getting either of the endings where Ghost takes over from Hollow and absorbs Radiance out of them. Ghost is infected and then sealed inside the Black Egg in Hollow's place. It’s suggested by the animation’s staging that Radiance briefly struggles to get out of Ghost after absorbed but is ultimately stuck in them, at which point the seal is reestablished.

If you haven’t used the Infected menu theme yourself, the... interesting thing about it is that it moves organically. The light ball expands and contracts - y’know, sort of like a living organ - and so does the black webby stuff around it.

Also, Radiance’s heartbeat is included in the theme's ambiance.

[desc: hollow’s bestiary entry again]

To cut to the chase, this part of Hollow’s bestiary entry that says “the plague’s heart”? I don’t think that’s just Ghost/Team Cherry being poetic. I think there’s a good chance it’s LITERAL.

I think TPK is the sort of person who could cram a native woman’s literal living beating heart inside his own child’s body so they can use it as... say, a focus to absorb and trap her mind/spirit inside their body, too. Mr. No Cost Too Great is capable of a lot in the name of keeping other people’s claws off his Big Shiny kingdom. This is kind of his whole brand.

But also, like, yuck.

This fits the worldbuilding too; generally speaking Hollow Knight is Body Horror City. Also there’s the case of Grimm: While he and Radiance are loose counterparts at best with WILDLY disparate outlooks and ethoses, his existence serves as precedent that a Higher Being’s heart specifically can be separate from the rest of them.

As I said before, though, this DOES raise as many questions as it answers. If this is another piece in the puzzle of how TPK belled the cat, we’re now left wondering how he got Radiance’s heart to use as Hollow's focus to begin with.

We know he has access to the Dream Realm because that’s ultimately where he hid when Hollow’s seal failed, but who did he send to do the stealing and how did they get away with it? (TPK certainly wouldn’t have gone; his own life’s the one cost too great for him to willingly pay.) Was Radiance’s heart separate from her like the Nightmare’s Heart, or was it a part of her body? (I think the latter is more likely just from her personality; Grimm’s hidden heart makes sense because of how he keeps even his own servants at arm’s length emotionally, whereas Radiance is all heart all the time. I think this makes more sense with their equal opposites schtick too. But this would make for a WAY riskier mission.)

I can imagine all kinds of possibilities. None of them are definitive, but the thing they have in common is that they are all Awful... and how on-brand that is for Hollow Knight as a whole is, maybe, the most persuasive argument for It’s Literally Actually Her Real Physical Heart there could be.

[scottsumrners]

I hope you don't mind, but I have to get this off my chest, especially with all the posts going around concerning Spiderman and the MCU and Tom Holland's "Spiderman". I came into this world a big Spiderman fan. I love his stories, and I love him. He's amazing and fun, and McGuire's and Garfield's movies are a treat. I stayed away from the MCU because I did not hear good things. But I remember basically being forced by friends of a friend to watch Far From Home when it came out and the movie isn't good, at all. This isn't news, I know, and the Peter/Spiderman as we know him is wildly OOC. Some were excited that with Iron Man dead and gone, Peter could finally have the spotlight without Mr Stank hogging it. Maybe even mention a certain uncle who impacted his being a superhero. Unsurprisingly Peter mourns and the movie still heavily focuses on Tony, and he's even responsible for more villains and the stuff that happens with Peter at the end of the movie. But it never once frames Tony as having done something horribly wrong. And still no mention of beloved uncle Ben Parker, the normal man with the kind heart who influenced Peter in many other (and better) stories. But anyway. Far From Home was Far From Good. Usually and historically, when Aunt May finds out that Peter is Spiderman, it's treated with delicacy and severity, especially because usually when she knows, that means she's about to die. Insomniac's Spiderman handles this incredibly and it's heart-wrenching. The sequel to that game starring Miles where his mom finds out is handled beautifully too. But here, it's treated so comedically that I honestly felt empty-headed no thoughts at first. Just couldn't process it. One big complaint I see about Spiderman movies, especially MCU is not being able to have him be SpiderMAN, as in an adult and not a boy stuck in high school. Of course Far From Home has Peter and nearly most of his high school get snapped and then ultimately returned back to high school. At least with McGuire and Garfield, they eventually in their sequels got to grow a little. Holland is perpetually stuck as a dumb kid in high school. It's insane. But so, Holland goes on an expensive Europe trip. At some point he meets Jake Gyllenhaal and immediately trusts him. A mistake we've all made. Mr Stank left him drone striking glasses for some idiotic reason, almost kills his class in a scene upsettingly played for laughs, then gives them to Jake because the movie needs him to, and because the MCU loves making Peter Parker a supremely dumbed down stupid needy kid who can't think for himself or show a modicum of intelligence. One scene that jarred me so badly that I couldn't see color for several minutes was when Peter went to go buy MJ some replica of a necklace from an old movie she liked. When he was in the shop looking at it with longing eyes, I laughed to myself, "He has that look until he realizes it's too expensive for him." But no, cut to him having bought it with no struggle. It made my eyes boggle. My jaw dropped. Who is this kid, able to buy some rare crystal necklace with no problem? That's not Peter Parker. I'm well aware the movie has far worse things about it (as mentioned), but it was at that point I realized they purposefully don't care about Spiderman. From the ground up the MCU took this character and systemically reworked him and rebuilt him into this.... thing. This milquetoast little rich jerkoff with no regard for anything meaningful. The true Spiderman we know and love will always exist and continue to exist, and touch the hearts of many who love him for the wonder that he is. But what the MCU has put onto our screens... what they dared to say is Spiderman... is not Spiderman. That is not, nor will he ever be the man that I love. The day will come when I get my vengeance for those responsible for this. After all, with great power comes great responsibility.

oh, i agree with you 100%

one post that is going around has a wonderful analysis of the problem with removing any kind of monetary struggle from peter's story, and the OP mentioned it's because they couldn't make the movie "fun" if they mentioned the parkers are poor. but honestly, i don't think that's the case - the original spiderman movies WERE fun! not only were they fun, they were incredibly memorable! from the movie having peter chase after the school bus to the final scene in the cemetery, the original spiderman movie (and its sequels) left an impression on everyone who watched them.

but, honestly, can anybody remember a single scene from the first mcu spiderman movie? any worth remembering, worth gifing, worth memeing? spiderman isn't allowed to exist as a character because from his very introduction, he is forced to have tony as a crutch. he's not allowed to exist without tony's (and the avengers') influence. he can't even have his own movie without some outsider influence (tony or nick fury or stephen strange) acting as an overseer.

which is like??? completely opposed to the original character.... so to make it work, they have to completely throw away any personality peter had. in doing so they just... completely erased the character along the way

there is nothing in any of the tom holland movies that marks the mcu peter as a peter parker. he doesn't have peter's wits, his sarcasm, his attitude, his backstory... hell, he doesn't even have his own costume or his own plotline or his own villains. peter's villains are people slighted by tony stark, or apparently people coming from other dimensions (already with their own personalities and backstories fleshed out by a more competent group of writers). a peter parker who goes to a fancy private school, who can buy gifts for his girlfriend or throw away backpacks and clothes whenever he wants because he knows he can just buy new ones, who doesn't even need to make his own tech, who doesn't need to work to supply for his family; what does he have in common with ANY version of peter, aside from the name and moniker? and all because kevin feige had his face surgically attached to rdj's crotch like in the human centipede so he could be sucking rdj's dick 24/7...

[shininglions-a]

ok but, while revamping this blog, i had a lot of Thoughts™ abt miss min, under the cut will be the hc dump that resulted! i thought it’d be a good way to get the ‘ol ball rolling, y’know? lots of general backstory/character stuff that’ll probs get a more fleshed out meta down the line, plus some random/fun hcs, so. yea! <3

>had ur run of the mill middle-class suburban type family, along with the somehow v emotionally distant, but stressfully overbearing at the same time type parents that generally comes with it. they def didn’t support her and her interests/dreams, and always thought she could ‘do better’, no matter what. >(she’ll tell you it never slowed her down, but it did affect her more then she liked to admit, only feeding her self-destructive thoughts when she begun to spiral, bc: 'what if they were right?’) >also, she had a younger brother, her parents had him late/after min already moved out, it’s. fairly obvious that he’s supposed to be her replacement, and… she feels rlly bad for him, tbh? he was around three years old when min got taken by the entity.

>struggled w/ alcoholism pre-fog, but. the idea of not being 'on her game’ (in her words) scares the hell outta her in the realm, so. even if somehow she gets her hands on the stuff now, she’ll probs pass. >she used to be a lot more irritable back in the day bc of the effects of suddenly going without, and def still gets cravings/misses the escape it brought her from time to time–but she’s trying, ok? >still bums cigarettes off bill sometimes tho, don’t @ her!

>her bunny hoodie was something she used to wear a lot, especially early on in her esports career. she always got a satisfaction in her opponents underestimating her bc her cutesy appearance, and then getting their shit wrecked, y'know? also its comfie <3 >min vc, after straight up destroying some dudes in a game, turning to the nearest camera: ✨✌️😊✌️✨

>she had what was basically a twitch channel, and a fairly popular one at that! did stream team stuff a lot w/ her esports group, ofc. >only lived in the laser bear’s dorms part-time, she’d grown pretty attached to the old apartment she rented when she first moved out, as dinky as it was. so, that’s where she spent the off-season.

>while she’s unsure of why the other survivors reasons for being there, she’s convinced the reason she was taken was bc of her ‘failure’. >she disappointed her family, her fans, her team, herself… and now she has to make up for it, she has to prove herself, she has to win. >basically, she thinks she deserves what’s happening to her, it’s her fault, and its s/t she has to fix all by herself, like always. hence, in part, her prickly attitude during her first few months in the fog, though she’s definitely gotten a bit better abt that part, at least.  

>killers either love her or hate her bc shes. def a challenge: generally quiet and sneaky, but gets riled up pretty easy, and WILL kick, and bite, and throw insults, and be annoying as all hell if/when caught, or chased. >she’s kind of a lone wolf in trials, avoids grouping up w/ the others if she can, and doesn’t talk much when 'in the zone’. but, at the same time, she’s not the type to leave somebody behind unless she really has to.

>often times, it’ll seem like all hope is gone and she ditched you, before she suddenly comes back to save ur ass, y'know? like, kicks in the door, 'sup dumbass, cavalries here. don’t lose ur mind or anything. 🙄🙄🙄’ >this wasn’t rlly the case early on as i’ve mentioned, back then she. probably would just leave you, but. now yall got her being SOFT AND SHIT? absolutely unbelievable, the nerve, smh !!! lmao

>still has her switch lite that she always carried around with her pre-fog, and it works, too. no, she doesn’t get why either, but she’s def not complaining, outside of trials, u’ll often find her playing w/ it!

[baphomet-media]

Blaster Caster - An Ikenfell Review

Genre: Adventure Subgenre: Tactics RPG Developer: Happy Ray Games  Publisher: Humble Games Platform(s): PC, Switch, Xbox; Reviewed on Xbox Series X Release Date: October 8th, 2020

Ikenfell immediately caught my eye in a marketing email from Humble. The art style looked charming, and it stayed on my radar for a while until I gave it a try on a whim from Game Pass, needing something to sink my teeth into on Xbox. I was a little wary at first, as tactics games can sometimes be difficult to get into (I’m looking at you, Fire Emblem), but the art style and whispers of praise I kept hearing drew me in. Does it hold up, though? Let’s dig in!

Story

The story of Ikenfell follows Maritte, an “ordinary” (non-magical) girl who travels to the titular school of magic to find her missing sister, Safina. After suddenly gaining magical powers of her own, Maritte soon realizes that something that happened at the school is causing the world to destabilize and magic itself to distort in strange and unusual ways. Best of all, Safina seems to be right smack dab in the middle of everything.

Along the way, Maritte will meet a number of students of Ikenfell, friends and rivals alike of Safina, with whom she will partner in order to get to the bottom of the strange happenings at the school. One of the best things about the game is its diverse cast of characters, seemingly all of whom are queer to some extent. It felt really nice to have some representation that didn’t try to make a huge deal out of the characters’ identities. That being said, I found it somewhat difficult to keep up with characters’ genders, pronouns, and sexualities, since it’s rarely mentioned by the game. One idea that could alleviate this is if the game could remind you of the characters’ pronouns on their status pages. Additionally, while some characters, such as Maritte, Gilda, and Pertisia, felt fully realized and fleshed-out, the other half of the party seemed to languish in stagnation. While Rook and Petronella had a bit of development regarding their relationships to Safina, Ima had basically no backstory and felt forgotten.

The game has plenty of side characters as well that help to flesh out the cast, particularly the bumbling dandy Ibn Oxley and his surly protector Bax. These two were pretty adorable in their relationship, and I’m always a fan of the incompetent braggart archetype, however I feel like they didn’t do much except constantly get in the way throughout the entire story, and I felt like I was always cleaning up after them. The headmistress, Baudovinia Aeldra, has a very touching, and surprisingly dark, backstory, and she becomes something of a tragic antagonist throughout the course of the story.

Perhaps the thing that impressed me the most was the game’s scope of worldbuilding. In one chapter, you ascend a tower as the game drip feeds you bits of its mythology, and I was really into it. Additionally, I like that there are small hints about the world at large outside of the play area, which made me feel like the school was only one part of a larger world, even if it was effectively the center.

The story itself is fairly basic and somewhat on the short side. There were plenty of touching moments throughout, but I couldn’t help but feel like I was just chasing Safina’s coattails the whole time, as she’s all that anyone can talk about. What’s worse, outside of flashbacks, Safina doesn’t actually do anything the entire game, which was a disappointment. I was looking forward to having a sororal bonding moment that didn’t really come until the epilogue, and even that was a bit lackluster.

Gameplay

At its core, Ikenfell is an RPG. The battles take place on a 12x3 grid, and on each character’s turn, they can move and cast a spell from their repertoire. As opposed to other games that have MP or a fixed number of spells, Ikenfell’s spells are thankfully unlimited. Instead, some spells have a cooldown time, though this is rarely an issue, as most spells with cooldowns are powerful spells anyway. Additionally, each spell has its own effective range, so proper positioning is constantly important. Most spells can be categorized as one of the following:

Single-target damage dealing 

Area-of-effect damage dealing 

Ally buffing 

Enemy debuffing 

Placing a trap 

Other, or some combination of the above 

Despite this, most spells feel different from a combination of their ranges and other unique properties. For example, while Pertisia’s Retaliation spell hits multiple targets for damage, it has the unique range of hitting all allies that are orthogonal to her or her allies, incentivising close-quarters play. This pairs well with Gilda’s Teleportation ability, which lets her teleport to the other side of the battle grid and immediately take a second turn. In all honesty, I found the combination of Gilda and Perty so powerful that I spent most of the game using only those two and Maritte, who becomes so physically powerful by the end of the game that she’s a must-have. Unfortunately, I never found much use for Rook and Ima, as their spells never really stood out much to me, aside from being the only characters able to set traps. Traps become useless pretty quickly, since most enemies can fly or teleport to their destination square, meaning unless they land right on a trap, it’ll more likely hinder your own movement. Nel at least had unique abilities in being the only character able to cast healing spells, but the spells are so difficult to actually perform, and they’re so miserably weak otherwise that it doesn’t feel useful to include them, which is really sad considering their backstory!

Enemies also get the same mechanics as the player, which usually meshes well, however it seems like most enemies get way more turns than the player, especially certain enemies that can use actions that immediately give them an extra turn. It pretty much requires you to use Gilda to provide speed buffs and debuffs just to feel competitive. This is felt particularly strongly during boss battles when bosses can summon minions and then immediately take another turn. It can get overwhelming quickly, especially if one character gets knocked out. Fortunately, if you’re leveled up enough and you stay on top of healing and taking out minions, you should be fine in any battle, though this does put the player in an odd dichotomy where you either stay on top of everything for the entire battle, but you make one mistake and you basically lose outright.

The other mechanic to battles is the timing mechanics. Every spell has a specific timing for pressing the A button in order to deal max damage or buff. You also use the same timed button press to defend against enemy attacks, which gives the battles a slight Paper Mario feel. Unfortunately, I found that timing was often inconsistent. Some spells have helpful visual indicators for letting the player know when to hit A, but many are best used slightly before or slightly after the visual trigger, making it frustrating when you whiff a spell or take major damage despite looking like you were right on time. The game has some accessibility options that can bypass this, by making your attacks auto-hit or skipping battles altogether, but this feels more like cheats than balance, so I didn’t use them.

As far as the overworld goes, you travel between areas to reach various story objectives, giving strong Mother series vibes from your party following along behind you. The game allows you to save your progress by petting cats around the school, which is automatically an A+ from me. The cats also refill your HP, so you don’t have to worry too much about healing outside of battle.

I really enjoyed the equipment system in the game as well. Aside from weapons, each other item can be worn by any character, and usually offer both benefits and drawbacks, so it’s up to you to decide which stats you want to optimize on each character. Though it wasn’t a really tough decision, as there are only 5 stats (HP, Attack, Defense, Speed, Movement), and most equipment only modifies the middle three. I ended up speccing Maritte into Attack, Perty into Defense, and Gilda into Speed, since those seemed to match their play styles and base stats.

There isn’t much in the way of side content in the game, the main sidequest being collecting hidden gems throughout the world. These gems can be exchanged for special accessories that give unique effects. Unfortunately, these accessories don’t provide any stat bonuses, so I didn’t find any of them as useful as just buffing stats. Lastly, the game has a few optional bosses to defeat, which basically require you to hit the, admittedly low, level cap of 30. These bosses were interesting, but at that point I was getting sick of boss battles.

Presentation

Ikenfell is a gorgeous game. There’s plenty of great pixel art throughout, particularly in the environment. The character sprites are very expressive, both in battle and on the overworld. I wasn’t a huge fan of some of the portraits (Perty particularly has some oddly lumpy cheeks), but for the most part they’re perfectly fine.

The music in the game is wonderful, and is largely done by electronic musical group Aivi & Surasshu. Most of the background tracks were a wonderful blend of chiptunes and melancholy instrumental which is definitely my thing. Unfortunately I wasn’t all that fond of the vocals on some tracks, but that’s likely just a personal preference thing. My partner loved them, so your mileage may vary.

Conclusion

JK Rowling wishes she could tell a magic school story this good. At the end of the game, I loved the characters and felt good knowing that I had accomplished everything the game had to offer. I loved just exploring, seeing the different locations, petting cats, and listening to the music. Definitely give this game a try if you love RPGs, queer representation, good stories or music, and DEFINITELY if you have Game Pass.

Score: 8 / 10

[okayto]

Mini-Review: Princess Principal

At the end of the 19th century, the Kingdom of Albion has been split into East and West sides by a giant wall. Five girls attend Queen's Mayfaire, a conventional and prestigious school in London. In the guise of regular high school girls, they act as spies under cover. Disguise, reconnaissance, infiltration, car chases... Each girl uses their own set of special skills to dart around the world of shadow. 

So, we have a steampunkish pseudo-England, and spies featuring high school girls. Sounds good, right?

Many of the episodes are just pure fun--this is action!spycraft, not something that really requires subtleties. Even when the girls do things that require a lot of sneaking around (such as getting into top-secret areas), they don’t seem particularly concerned that their faces are seen, or that they can (or should, at least, if anyone thought about it) be identified as teenage girls.

One thing I really disliked was how the episodes are primarily told out of chronological order. It started OK--the first episode just drops us in the middle of a mission and is very entertaining and compelling, and then in episode two we get some backstory and setup. The Wikipedia page actually provides an option to sort episodes by chronological order, which ends up being:

2, 3, 5, 4, 8, 1, 7, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12

While the ending, at least, is the ending, it was annoying spending two-thirds of the series trying to determine whether this episode was set before or after the one I’d just watched. 

The show is at its best when it’s focused on the characters themselves, and zooming in on a specific plot. I could never remember which Albion side was which, and the show doesn’t flesh out the politics enough to make them interesting, so I thought the bits that had to do with the politics behind the spying, and treasonous plots and whatnot, were boring. 

(Unfortunately, this is also the driving force behind the final few episodes, making this a show that ended leaving me more bored than the first few episodes.)

(Like, look at this! This is so much more interesting than secret identities and assassination plots in a church.)

There’s a movie due out today (February 11, 2021), the first of 6 eventual films that pick up where the series left off. I might eventually try to watch the films--if they lean in to the series’ strengths of fun cute girls doing ridiculous fighting feats and have a complete story arc in each film, it’ll work well.

I feel kinda bad having such a meh response to the series, when the buzz from various reviewers elsewhere (particularly Anime News Network) seems much more positive, but Princess Principal tried to fit more story into fewer episodes than they needed.

Verdict

English dub? Yes, but not available on Prime where I watched

Visuals: Yes. (Okay, this is another area I’m meh on, as I don’t think they’re standout. Not bad, but I just think most of the main characters have boring designs.)

Worth watching? Maybe. Other reviews I’ve seen online have been more enthusiastic than I feel. It’s the kind of thing I’d recommend if someone already liked its subject matter, but I won’t be rewatching.

Where to watch (February, 2021): Amazon Prime (sub); VRV (sub and dub), BR and DVD sets

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